Ready
by Maritt Sparkles
Summary: Barney and Robin get back together. Set post-dopplegangers.
1. Karaoke

Karaoke

"Where are you taking me Barney?" She sounds frustrated, though she secretly loves the mystery of it all. If there's ever been a guy who knows how to cheer her up, it would definitely be Barney. He always had the right things to say, some "legendary," as he'd call it, adventure to go on, and despite his odd opinions on what was fun, she always managed to have a good time. They'd gone through an awkward time after their breakup, but once Robin was with Don, they started to move on, and now that Don was gone, things were the way they used to be.

"I told you Sherbatsky, It's a surprise, but I promise you'll love it," she smiles at this, they'd been in the cab for a while, so she stated to expect they weren't in midtown, and he walked her through a door, but he'd demanded she'd close her eyes until they were there. "Okay, you can open them now," The room was full of colorful lights and little tables to sit at; there was a bar on one end and a stage on the other.

"A karaoke bar?" she questions, "What made you decide this would be a cool place to hang out?"

"I thought it would be fun, and I think it'll make you feel better,"

"Barney, I told you, I'm fine," but she wasn't. The whole Don thing hit her hard, she wasn't as angry with him anymore, but she still couldn't believe she was so stupid, the one time she chooses a relationship over her career, and he takes the same job she had turned down for him. It messed with her head, who was she? Robin Sherbatsky did not choose love over work, that wasn't how it worked. When she really thought about it, she didn't even like Don that much; she was just and quite suddenly, ready to become that girl Ted was talking about. She was ready to be the one who chose love over her career and took risks like that. "And there is no way I'm getting up there to sing,"

"Oh yes you are, I called ahead so you couldn't back out," she tries to protest, but he's already pushing her onstage, "This is her," he says to the D.J. and sits in a front row table.

"Up next is Robin Sparkles, who wants to send Don a special message," _oh no, _is all she can think. A familiar tune comes on and she smiles bravely at the crowd, then she looks at Barney, if she's going to do this he may as well enjoy it. She even has the crowd cheering in the final refrain of "Gives You Hell" by the All American Rejects.

As she gets off the stage she high fives Barney, "Well done Sherbatsky, or should I say, Sparkles," He laughs.

"That is not going to be a thing, don't get the others calling me that," she warns him with a glare, but she can't help but smile.

"Only if I can call you that whenever they're not around," he offers, and she nods reluctantly.

"Are you going to sing?" She asks with a playful smile.

"Not that they don't love me here, but I'm leaving it to you tonight," he had ordered them scotch, and Robin had already nearly drank her first glass. "Keep them coming," he says to the waiter. They talked and laughed, and about four tumblers later, Robin goes over to the D.J. stand and whispers something to him. When she returns, she downs her fifth scotch and turns to walk back to the stage, "What are you doing?"

"I think you're going to enjoy this," and with that she climbs onto the stage and performs the greatest rendition of Ke$ha's "Your Love Is My Drug," anyone could ever hear, or so he guesses. "Well?" She says when she's finished.

"Incredible," they both laugh.

"Okay, come on, before we go, you have to sing one song with me," It's about three in the morning and no one is left at the bar.

"Fine, go pick one out," She chooses "Mamma Mia," the ABBA classic.

At the end of the song, Robin realizes something, _yes; I've been broken hearted, blue since the day we parted. Why, why did I ever let you go? _And she kisses him. It just feels right.


	2. Morning

Morning

She woke up next to him in the morning, and she finally feels like she's where she's supposed to be. She looks up at him, smiles a bit, and buries her head deeper into his chest. He pretends he doesn't notice, but pulls her in closer, they lie there for a while, adjusting to this familiar setting, but this time it was different. She takes a deep breath and he strokes her hair. "So…" she says

"Does this mean?"

"Or were we just…"

"I don't think that's all…"

"So this is more than…"

"Yeah," he sighs, but then she kisses him again, and any worry about all of the things that just happened is gone, all he cares about is her and never being apart.

"I think we're ready this time," she says, "you know, for something serious," she definitely was, she wanted to show herself that love was real, and that even she could have it.

"I guess so, I mean, I'm honestly starting to get bored of my usual…lifestyle, and if I had to pick someone to be with, it would definitely be you," another kiss, this time more intense than before, Robin had never been someone's first choice before, there was always that other perfect girl out there that she could never compete with. "So, are we, you know, back together,"

"I think so," she pauses, and her blue eyes turn right to his, "I mean, I want to be,"

"Are we going to tell them this time?"

"We already had the talk I guess, so Lily won't interfere, Ted shouldn't care, and Marshall, well, Marshall is just Marshall,"

"Yeah, but what about double dates…" The dreaded double dates with Lily and Marshall, they were never any fun and sometimes a little awkward, Barney and Robin were a different kind of couple, they didn't do wine tastings, fondue fests, scrabble night, or Grey's Anatomy marathons, they were too awesome for that. They didn't let the fact that they were in a relationship define their life, they simply did stuff they would normally do, but together.

"I think we can endure it, plus, I don't think I'll be able to keep it a secret this time, I don't want to pretend I'm not totally thinking about you all the time," she smiles at him, she'd never been happy to sound cheesy before. He kisses her again, it sends electricity through her veins, and then it just slips out, "I love you,"

"Well that was fast," he comments, and they both laugh, "me too," his eyes meet hers and she smiles, things were finally turning out right.


	3. Comfortable

Comfortable

They approached MacLaren's, still holding hands, "Ready?" she asks, and he nods. When they walk in, Lily notices immediately, gasps, points, and smiles. Ted and Marshall look up as they approach the table. "We have something to tell you guys,"

"We're…wait for it…back together," Lily claps and cheers, Marshall holds up his glass, and Ted just smiles.

"Next round's on us!" Lily gets up from the table.

"I'll help carry," Robin follows her to the bar.

"I can't believe you're back together! I knew it would happen eventually, but wow, Robin, ooh, tell me how it happened I want to know everything," and then she hiccups from all the excitement. Robin just smiled, "Come on! Tell me, tell me, tell me!" she demands.

"Okay, we went out last night," Lily hiccups again, "and then it just kind of happened, one minute we're hanging out, the next minute, we're in love again, it's hard to explain,"

"Wait, in love? You're not just back together, you're in love!" Lily hiccups again. Robin looks over at Barney who smiles, she smiles back.

"Yeah, I guess we are. I mean we kind of said it, so I guess that counts right?"

"Wait, Robin, you said it, you left that out, when, how who first? Tell me!"

"Um, this morning, I did, and I don't really know how it just, happened," Robin thought about it a little more, whoa, it did just happen, just yesterday she was feeling depressed and cynical, and now she's, in love? "That's how it should be though, just natural, right?"

"Yeah, but, that's still huge, you guys aren't exactly commitment junkies, it's just out of character, that's all," She began to question everything, was this just a lapse in judgment? Was she just freaking out? But then he's smiling again, and when she slides into the booth and their hands touch. She looks over at him, and he's looking at her with that undeniable affection she'd only seen in movies, or when Marshall and Lily looked at each other.

"To Barney and Robin," typical Ted to toast them, Lily and Marshall echo with "Barney and Robin," She can't help but notice their names sound good together.

"To us," he says, with his adorable smile and perfect eyes, she's lost for a moment.

"To us," their glasses clink, and to her surprise, she leans in to kiss him, right in front of everyone. It must have lasted a bit too long, since when she pulled away, Ted awkwardly cleared his throat, Marshall was intently staring at his beer, and Lily was smiling excitedly. "Sorry," she giggles. "You could have stopped me; you know I get carried away,"

He smiles back at her, "You're irresistible," they kiss again.

"Do you guys want to go?" Ted asks, they all laugh. "You're just doing that new couple thing where you can't get enough of each other, and that really bothers single people,"

"Let's get out of here Sparkles," he whisks her out the door so fast, she's breathless now. She takes a hold of his tie and pulls him into another kiss, his fingers tangle in her hair.

"I missed you," she whispers.

"You have no idea," They walk all the way to his apartment, keeping as close as they can to one another. They don't have to speak, but she's glad he does anyway just to hear his voice. He'd missed her laugh, her smile, her kiss, "I love you," he says and her heart flutters at the words, they used to scare her, but now she adores them, replays them in her head, loses the ability to think every time she hears them. This was how it should be.


	4. Perfection

Perfection

Robin couldn't stop smiling, things were going so well. She would usually just wait for all the problems to start crashing down on her new-found perfect world, but nothing. Maybe she was just in the right place for once. Lily noticed this new aura of happiness while they were shopping that weekend, "So things must be going pretty well for you and Barney, right?" Lily had a curious smile on her face, being happily married herself, nothing brightened Lily's day like discovering another happy couple.

"Yeah, I keep waiting for something to just snap, but it's just not happening. I think I may have finally figured out what's right for me,"

"You mean, like, you guys are going to get married and be together forever," Lily's face lit up as she said this.

"Well, before you start crying, no, I mean, I think we're both ready for a more serious relationship and it's not going to fall to pieces like last time,"

"Oh, well that's still good I guess," Lily continued looking at the expensive shoes.

"No, no, no, you have too much debt, only one pair that's not marked down every month, and you bought those cute sandals last week," Lily pouts. "What do you think of these?" Robin shows Lily the black stilettos she's tried on.

"Ooh, I love them. What's the occasion?"

"Barney and I are checking out this new restaurant tomorrow, and the dress code is semi-formal, so I thought I'd get something new,"

"You guys are going on romantic dates that make you want new shoes? Robin, I think you've found something perfect!" Robin could see Lily's I'm-going-to-be-a-bridesmaid look, and it made her think about things. She was not planning on getting married. She wasn't looking for her one, true love. They were just awesome together, that's all. No weddings, no mushy stories, and no coupley activities aside from going out to dinner, which everyone does anyway. But then she imagines being with Barney, the way his kiss makes her shiver, how her heart skips a beat every time he speaks to her, the way his voice sounds when he says I love you. "Robin? Did you just have a wedding moment?"

"What? _No. No, no, no, no, no_. I definitely did not, no. I mean there is just _no_ way, _no, no, no, no, no. No. No. No."_ Robin blushed and Lily smiled. Lily knew sixteen no's equaled a weird sort of yes. Robin knew it too, she honestly thought she might be happy staying with Barney, you know, forever, but they weren't like that, maybe it would just happen like everything else, but she and Barney were not the type to plan out some perfect life together. Robin bought the shoes, "Now, what do you say we look at some dresses?" Lily smiled. After about an hour of trying things on, they decided on a simple black cocktail dress.

"You are going to look absolutely gorgeous; Barney is going to pass out when he sees you!" She pictured his face, the way his eyes lit up when he smiled, how he would raise his eyebrows and say, 'Wow, you look beautiful.' A chill ran down her spine, he made her feel like the most amazing person ever, and the way girls glared at her when she was on his arm made her feel like a princess. Because to her he wasn't Barney Stinson, womanizer extraordinaire, he was just Barney, _her _Barney, and he was perfect. He'd buy her roses, call her every day, hold her close when she was sad, and kiss her when it was raining. She wouldn't change anything if she could, it was already _perfect_.


	5. Coupley

Coupley

He picks her up at the apartment, and just as she predicted he loved her new dress. She leans in to adjust his tie, even though it was fine in the first place. "You don't look so bad yourself," a quick kiss before he takes her arm. They sit close in the cab, knees touching and fingers intertwined. "I thought we were going to a restaurant uptown?"

"Change in plans, but you'll like it, I promise," They get out of the cab on Broadway.

"Les Miserables?" she says in a perfect French accent. "Barney I didn't know you were into theatre, you're just full of surprises," she's smiling. They have great seats, he holds her hand the whole time and by the end she had already cried six times.

"Turns out you have a soft spot, don't you Sherbatsky?" he smirks.

"I'm full of surprises too," she notices that instead of getting a cab they're simply walking up the street. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see, just keep walking," he buys her roasted almonds on the way since they skipped dinner. They finally arrive at Central Park, her hand still in his, an inerasable smile on her face.

"Central Park! Oh Barney this is just perfect! I wish I'd worn other shoes though, these were not made to walk this much,"

"But they're really sexy," he smiles and she bites her lip, it makes the shoes worth it. He puts his arm around her as they walk down the paths in the dark, she would normally worry about getting lost, but even in her uncomfortable heels she'd walk until dawn if it meant they were together. As soon as she yawns he offers to get a cab, she nods sleepily and they exit the park. She falls asleep on his shoulder on the way. He pays the driver and starts to carry her inside; she wakes up in the elevator.

"Aw, Barney, you know you could have just woke me up," she wraps her arms around his neck and smiles, her eyes barely open.

"You're cute when you sleep," he kisses her forehead before she rests it on his shoulder again. She already has some pajamas at his place, and she brushes her teeth before sitting by him on the couch.

"I had a really nice time tonight," she says, yawning. They put on a favorite movie, but she's asleep in his lap ten minutes into it. He carries her to the bedroom and tucks her in.

"Good night, Sparkles," he kisses her and she smiles.


	6. Dreaming

Dreaming

She feels him lightly kiss her lips, and a smile plays on her lips. Even while she sleeps she stills smells a mix of cologne, silk, and scotch. She pictures his eyes, how they light up when he smiles, their intense blue color, the way she gets absolutely lost if she looks at them for more than three seconds. She imagines kissing him, feeling his lips against hers; she would move her hand over his perfectly sculpted face. Suddenly, she realizes he isn't with her, and she's grown accustomed to a close proximity between them when she sleeps. "Barney?" she whimpers, "Barney…" then she's awake. He's staring at her from the bathroom, a smug smile across his face. "What? I'm used to you…" she pouts.

"Just a minute, Sparkles," he finishes getting ready for bed and sits next to her; she can't help but notice his bare chest. She stares at him for a minute, and he smiles. "I didn't know you couldn't sleep without me,"

"Me neither," she says, resting her head on his chest while he reaches his arm around her back. She listens to his heartbeat for a moment, feels his chest rise as he breathes. He smells like Armani and she takes a deep breath to inhale it. He starts chuckling at something, "What?"

"You act like it's all new, it's funny," he runs his fingers through her hair. "You're randomly adorable,"

"You're always adorable," she says with a playful smile. She wants to stay like this forever, she feels safe with him, and he makes her happy. "Do you _have_ to go to work tomorrow?" She traces little circles on his chest with her index finger. He laughs at the childish tone in her voice.

"I suppose I could take the day off, especially since you can't seem to function without me,"

"Mmmm-hmmm," she pulls herself even closer to him, "Good night Barney,"

"Good night Robin, and just to watch you get all tingly again, I love you," she shivers a little and he smiles, "I love you,"


End file.
